Backlog of 3,500 financial complaints

THE economic downturn has caused a large increase in complaints against banks, building societies and other financial institutions with a record number of cases being handled by the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO).

The Ombudsman, Bill Prasifka, revealed yesterday that his office is dealing with a backlog of almost 3,500 complaints which have built up over the past two years in tandem with the country’s financial crisis.

Mr Prasifka said the FSO had received 3,600 complaints alone during the first six months of 2010. He pointed out that there had been a noticeable increase in the level of complaints since the beginning of the economic downturn.